Writing 2010
Elisabeth Morrill
Brenda McKenna
Writing 2010
5 March 2017
Bacteria, just like every other living thing, evolve in order to survive. Antibiotic
resistance is when bacteria evolve to become resistant to antibiotics. This is a major public health
problem. When antibiotics were first created in the early 20th century, they helped save thousands
and thousands of lives, they still do today. But because of antibiotic resistance, there are multiple
antibiotics that are no longer effective. This leaves hundreds of people asking for help, hopeless
because there are no antibiotics that can treat them because the bacteria present in their bodies
are resistant to all possible antibiotics. So the question is how can this problem be solved? Well
there is no one solution that will completely get rid of antibiotic resistance, antibiotic resistance
will always be present because bacteria will always evolve in order to survive but it is important
to learn what things make it worse like the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and how to avoid
those things. It is also very important to create new antibiotics to replace those that are no longer
effective.
shown in the article, Stop the Killing of Beneficial Bacteria by Martin Blaser. An average
American baby born in 1940 was expected to live to the age of 63 and today a baby born is
expected to live to 78, an important reason for this is antibiotics. The average American child
receives about 10-20 courses of antibiotics the first 18 years of life, antibiotics are life-saving in
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many respects (Blaser 393). The problem with this is that people have grown so dependent on
antibiotics that they are often overused. This leads to the killing of good bacteria that should
remain in the body (Blaser 393). Although the discovery of antibiotics has been life-saving,
antibiotics are used too often today and possibly lead to long-term health problems. Blaser then
goes on to talk about some of the resulting health problems. Labs have found that this killing of
beneficial bacteria may make it easier for humans to contract infections and diseases. Some of
these include asthma, allergies, obesity, type 1 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease (Blaser
393). Some common health problems could be the result of the overuse of antibiotics and just
using antibiotics less could lower the occurrences of these health issues. This is important for
people, especially doctors prescribing these antibiotics, to know because just by prescribing
George Khachatourians explains this. Most antibiotics used in livestock are used as growth
promoters and to prevent infection, not to treat infection. The recommended amount of
antibiotics used in livestock feed used to be 5-10ppm in the mid 1900s but today those levels
have been increased 10-20 times (Khachatourians 1130). This is an extreme amount of
antibiotics especially considering the huge amount of livestock around the world. Khachatourian
then explains how the resistance caused by this overuse spreads through the human population.
When antibiotics are overused in agriculture the antibiotic-resistant bacteria is transferred to the
human population which spreads the resistance throughout the population (Khachatourians
1130). The more antibiotics are overused, the more resistance spreads through the human
population and antibiotics are no longer effective. It is very important for people to know this so
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that they can come up with other ways of taking care of livestock without contributing to the
problem of resistance.
Along with overuse, antibiotics are also being used incorrectly. In an interview with
Scientific American Nobel Prize-winning chemist, Venki Ramakrishnam, talks about the
incorrect use of antibiotics and some possible solutions. Many people will go to a doctor and
demand an antibiotic when they have a cold or a flu, for which these antibacterial compounds are
useless (Ramakrishnam). When antibiotics are used for something that isnt treated by
antibiotics, any bacteria present will be exposed to the antibiotics and develop and spread
resistance faster. Ramakrishnam also talks about some possible ways to slow resistance. Better
ways of diagnosing bacteria should be created so that the bacteria present can be quickly
diagnosed and treated with a specific spectrum of antibiotics. There also needs to be better public
hygiene because there are people traveling all over the world and if resistance develops in one
place it can easily spread all over (Ramakrishnam). Antibiotic resistance is not an impossible
problem to solve, if people are more careful resistance can be slowed down. Ramakrishnam talks
about some alternatives to antibiotics, he says, Antibiotics should be used as a last resort. Apart
from general preventive measures like public health and hygiene, vaccines can be of enormous
benefit (Ramakrishnam). Antibiotics today are not being used as a last resort, to slow resistance;
people could start using other methods like good hygiene and vaccines to prevent bacterial
infections in the first place. This is important for doctors to know so that they refrain from
prescribing antibiotics when they are not needed, doctors should also be telling their patients to
maintain good hygiene and that might help prevent the spread of bacterial infections.
There are many possible solutions to the problem of antibiotic resistance. In the article,
Stop the Killing of Beneficial Bacteria, Martin Blaser says that many antibiotics, mostly
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penicillins, are given to women during pregnancy. The use of these antibiotics should be reduced
so the babies dont begin life on a lot of antibiotics that may be causing health problems later on
because they kill the good bacteria in the body (Blaser 394). Instead of giving antibiotics to all
mothers, they should be assessed to see if they actually need antibiotics to treat infections or if
vaccines might be the best option (Blaser 394). There are antibiotics being used all the time and
just assessing these uses to see if antibiotics are not actually needed could help slow the
resistance. This is important because doctors should only give antibiotics if they are only really
antibiotic resistance are simple. Wash hands as much as possible and use friction to loosen the
bacteria. Antibiotics should only be used if the patient for sure has a bacterial infection (Larsen).
The entire prescription of antibiotics should be used exactly as prescribed. Eating healthy foods
helps prevent illness and it is important to go to a doctor who knows how to correctly diagnose
bacterial infections (Larsen). It is simple to stay away from bacterial infections just by staying
clean and making healthy choices. Larsen also goes over some things to avoid in order to remain
healthy. Take antibiotics only for bacterial infections; dont take antibiotics for a cold or flu
because antibiotics dont kill viruses. Take prescribed medication for as long as it is prescribed
(Larsen). Take only the antibiotics prescribed, not anyone elses. Dont use antibacterial soap,
regular soap works well enough (Larsen). Just by following doctors orders and maintaining
good hygiene, people can possibly avoid bacterial infections. This is important for doctors to tell
their patients so that the patients know that antibiotics are not always needed and that there are
develop new antibiotics. According to the article Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and its
Future for Novel Antibiotic Development, due to the inevitability of resistance, antibiotics will
always need to be developed. There is a pressing need for new antibiotics due to the inevitable
development of resistance that follows the introduction of antibiotics to the clinic (Yoneyama,
Katsumata 1067). This is important to note because even though resistance will always happen,
creating new antibiotics is needed to replace, even temporarily, those antibiotics that bacteria
have already become resistant to. There are different ways to develop new antibiotics keeping in
mind antibiotic resistance, The main strategy of the pharmaceutical industry for development of
new therapeutics has been modification of existing antibiotics (Yoneyama, Katsumata 1067). It
is important to always keep antibiotic resistance in mind and look at the antibiotics that bacteria
have become resistant to and use some aspects of those antibiotics that were once very effective.
This is very important for the pharmaceutical industry because developing new antibiotics is
Antibiotics are used all the time in everyday life but that overuse might lead to health
problems later on in life like diabetes and obesity. There are simple ways to stay away from
bacterial infections though and remain healthy without using antibiotics like washing hands and
making smart health choices. The overuse, misuse, and use in livestock of antibiotics are leading
to quicker antibiotic resistance. Ways to solve this issue are to refrain from using antibiotics for
viruses and to use them less in daily life, antibiotics should also only be used if a patient for sure
has a bacterial infection, they should not be used as a just in case. It is also very important for
new antibiotics to be developed because they are always needed, developers can even use aspects
Works Cited
Blaser, Martin. Stop the Killing of Beneficial Bacteria. Nature 476 (2011): 393. Print.
Khachatourians, George. Agricultural use of Antibiotics and the Evolution and Transfer
Larsen, Pushpa. "Antibiotics Resistance." Antibiotics Resistance Cause and Solution | Natural
Yoneyama, Hiroshi, Ryoichi Katsumata. Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria and Its Future for
Novel Antibiotic Development. Bioschi. Biotechnol. Biochem 70.5 (2006): 1067. Print.
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Audience Page
development, doctors prescribing antibiotics, and people interested in funding research. Those
interested in pharmaceutical research and development are probably wanting to someday create
new antibiotics. When they research antibiotics they learn about antibiotic resistance so this
paper would be helpful for those who are more interested in antibiotic resistance and someday
Doctors might be interested in this paper because if they are prescribing antibiotics they
should know what can happen if they prescribe them incorrectly. They need to know about
antibiotic resistance so that they always have a backup plan in case some antibiotics they use
dont work on the patient because their bacteria are resistant to the antibiotics.
Those interested in funding research are probably looking at some major health problems
facing the world today and will find out about antibiotic resistance. This paper would be helpful
for them because they will find out what a big problem antibiotic resistance actually is and this
paper could help them learn about some possible solutions to the problem that they could fund
research to.
I also want to write to the general public just to warn them of antibiotic resistance and
what that might mean to them and let them know some of the things they can do to help prevent